“Shh! Not a sound! Go down this corridor and out the back door. You’ll have to go through the servants’ quarters. There’ll be a horse and rider waiting in the woods behind the kitchen.” These instructions were repeated now even though Maglon and Zorah had gone over the details time and time again to make sure everything was perfect and everything was set up for this night.

Maglon glanced around as if looking for something. “Do you have everything you need for the baby for a few days at least?”

“Yes, ma’am,” replied Zorah. “I’ve got plenty of clothes and blankets and food. He should be quite comfortable for at least a week. By then, we should be able to buy more things and stock up at the temple.”

“Make sure you don’t show yourself to anyone. Bozrah said he would go for supplies whenever you needed something. I will tell them here that you went back to live with your own people. No one will suspect anything.”

Maglon looked out the window, gave her head a slight nod and turned back to Zorah who was wearing a black cloak and holding what appeared to be a bakery basket. There were a few long loaves of bread sticking out from under a cloth. Just then the contents of the basket moved.

“You’ll have to hurry now before he wakes up and alerts the entire castle of his whereabouts! Good-bye and God’s blessings on you.” Maglon gave Zorah a quick hug and light kiss on the cheek. “Now, hurry!”

Zorah rushed out of the room and down the corridor. The corridor was dark except for the few candles on the wall. She followed the hallway which wound around past many closed doors to the back of the castle. When she got to the end, there was a staircase that took her to the servants’ quarters below. The staircase was narrow and winding. The baby in the basket moved again as Zorah tried to squeeze down the staircase with her bundle. When she got to the bottom, she thought she heard voices! She stepped back against the wall in the shadows and waited.

There were some voices coming from one of the rooms. Her heart was pounding so loud she thought it was echoing all the way down the corridor. “I thought everyone would be in bed and sound asleep by this time.” She wanted to scream!

The voices were coming from Hannah and Esau’s room. They are always the first one’s to bed and seemed to be the hardest to wake up. Why they were awake tonight of all nights? But, she couldn’t risk having them see her. They were two of the few servants left who were still loyal to the queen. So, Zorah waited.

She waited what seemed to be an eternity! She was sure the horse and rider would give up and leave before she could get out! But, still she waited. The baby moved again, a little more vigorously this time. Zorah was beginning to panic!

Finally, everything seemed quiet again so she began to cautiously move out into the corridor walking as quietly as she could. She held her breath as she crept silently passed Hannah and Esau’s door. She got past and finally to the end of the hallway.

At the end of the hall was a huge door that went into the kitchen. That evening as she was doing her regular evening duties cleaning up she made sure the hinges were oiled so they wouldn’t squeak. Carefully and slowly she pushed on the kitchen door. It moved smoothly and silently. She stepped inside the kitchen and gently eased the door back into place. The room was pitch dark, not even the moon shone through the window to give the slightest light for guidance. She’s glad she had looked around the room before she went to bed to remind herself where everything was and how far apart the tables were from the cookstove. She also made sure there were no buckets or stools in the walking area that she would accidentally kick in the dark. Still, she slowly tiptoed around the big, massive table in the middle of the room, feeling the floor in front of her with her feet as she made her way across the kitchen.

Scenes kept flashing through her mind as she made her way to the outside door.

What if someone decided they couldn’t sleep and suddenly came into the kitchen carrying a bright light? This sure was a dumb idea to come this way. Surely there had to be a better way. What if someone sees her out on the lawn running toward the trees?

What if the baby suddenly woke up screaming? That was her worst fear! She just hoped and prayed he was completely satisfied and would be in a deep sleep all the way to the temple. But, all this moving around and jostling is bound to wake him up. How would she explain where she was going with this baby and what she is going to do with him?

She knew if she got caught it would mean her life AND the baby’s. She was only trying to save a life from the wicked queen who recently took the throne. She was killing off any rightful heir to the throne. She didn’t want the threat of anyone taking her place in power, not even her own son or grandson! So, once Zorah got the baby to safety, there would be no problem except to keep his existence a secret. The queen will think he’s dead as long as there was no evidence of him anywhere. Then, she will be happy.

But, for right now, Zorah had to figure out how to open the heavy kitchen door without a squeak or sound. This will be trickier than the last one. She could oil the hinges and take care of the squeak. This door also had a heavy bar across it to lock the door for the night. She had thought about moving the bar before she went to bed, but she knew there was always somebody who went around checking the doors after everyone else was in bed. She thought about having Jacob leave this door open – she knew she could trust him – but she felt the fewer people who knew of this escape, the better.

Now she had to put her basket down. Would that wake the baby? Would he cry? Carefully and gently she lowered the basket to the floor. She held her breath. He was still sleeping. Then, she began to move the bar on the door. She forgot how heavy it really was, and now when she was trying to be so quiet, it seemed like it weighed a ton. It hardly budged. She tried again using more force but being careful not to move it too quickly and noisily. Slowly it began to give way to her pressure. Inch by inch it began to move.

Again, scenes flashed in her mind. What if someone came into the kitchen right now and saw her trying to be so careful about opening the door? And, why was she unlatching the door? But, no one came. She finally got the bar moved so she could open the door. She picked up her basket and crept outside. She closed the door so when the servants started working about no one would know something mysterious happened during the night. They’ll just think someone forgot to bolt the door.

The rest of the castle was still asleep as she quietly hurried across the lawn. She couldn’t see a horse and rider anywhere among the trees. Had he given up because it took her so long? Had someone found him and arrested him? She walked closer to the trees and strained to see into the forest. Still no sign of him. She stepped into the clump of trees closest to the kitchen door so she would be hidden from anyone in the castle. As she walked deeper into the forest, suddenly she heard, “Psst!” She looked around and just barely made out a man with two horses! What a godsend! She had been wondering how the three of them would ride one horse.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

Maglon looked around the room after Zorah was gone. Suddenly it felt so empty, so quiet. Things will surely be different with baby Joash gone. She will miss him tremendously. But, it had to be done.

When Joash’s uncle, Amaziah, died, Joash’s grandmother, Athalia, went beserk! She suddenly became power hungry. So power hungry, in fact, to the point of having every family member killed and any one else who might by some long chance have some kind of claim to the throne. She killed, Joash’s father and mother, aunts and uncles and cousins. There was not one person left of his family. If Maglon had not hidden Joash, he would’ve been killed too.

Maglon could not imagine what would cause a woman to kill her own family! But, regardless of what motivated the queen to act so cruelly, baby Joash would be safe for the time being. The plan was to have Zorah and the baby stay in one of the back rooms of the temple where very few people ever go. He would definitely be safe from the queen since she would never find herself in the temple, of all places. And, her henchmen were not any better about attending services in the temple.

It was all worked out. Bozrah, one of the temple workers, would go to the market to fetch supplies that would be needed from time to time. Bozrah would have to be careful to make his list so no one would suspect a baby anywhere near. It would take some thinking and extra trips but he could do it.

Bozrah had sent Joab to get Zorah and the baby. He couldn’t afford to let anyone near the castle see him in the middle of the night. Joab was younger and was more in the habit of being out late at night. He sent Joab with 2 horses instead of the one that Maglon had requested. He had the good sense to realize that 2 adults and one baby basket on a horse could get rather uncomfortable and cause the baby to wake up. The more comfortable the ride for the baby, the better.